Sign Into Digital Commerce 360

5miles releases first U.S. marketplace app experience in Spanish

Internet Retailer|May 13, 2016

Share:

New capabilities reflect the company's response to multi-ethnic U.S. consumer demands.

DALLAS, May 9, 2016 — 5miles (5milesapp.com), a leader in local commerce, launched a series of brand new features today, becoming the nation’s first mobile marketplace that tailors the buying and selling experience to Spanish- and other non-English-speaking users.

Enabling the translation of the app’s goods and services listings into multiple languages is the latest development by the Dallas-based company to respond to multi-ethnic consumer demand and reach broader communities in the U.S., where 5miles is among the fastest-growing marketplace apps.

“It’s exciting to see how the updates in this new version will facilitate transactions among and enhance the experience for our users who speak languages other than English,” said Rick Cantu, general manager for 5miles. “We are proud that 5miles is the first local marketplace app in the U.S. to deliver the same experience to Spanish-speaking buyers and sellers as to our English-speaking ones.”

The seven languages in 5miles’ initial translation function are Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Japanese, and Korean, in addition to of course English. The easy-to-use function, intuitively based on the language setting in a user’s phone or, for iOS devices, from manual selection options available on the app, will allow users to view the mobile interface, products and write and read messages in their preferred language.

The Spanish-language component is a major enhancement in the latest version of the app, which includes help desk support resources that previously were only available in English. Back-end assistance in which uses can chat live with 5miles “Awesome Experience” service representatives in Spanish also is now available.

advertisement

Cantu said he expects positive response to the translation features, for one because more than a third of its users across the U.S. are Hispanic. This enhancement will make it easier and potentially gives some users more peace of mind about buying and selling goods and services locally, right in their own neighborhoods.

Offering an app optimized for Spanish speakers also reflects the business clout of Hispanics, a demographic that is growing at four times the pace of the general population and a key consumer set for e-commerce.

For more information about 5miles, visit 5milesapp.com.

About 5miles

5miles is a hyper-local, free to download mobile marketplace app, one of the nation’s fastest-growing online shopping ventures now available in all major U.S. markets. It is the first app of its kind to include services, housing and jobs, in addition to second-hand trading. 5miles launched in Dallas in January 2015, setting itself apart with an easy-to-use mobile interface, identity verification capabilities for added safety and security, and hyper-local curation of offerings – all within 5miles. In its first year of operation, buyers and sellers in major markets coast-to-coast have transacted more than $1 billion in merchandise through 5miles. The app is ranked routinely in the top 10 of all shopping apps on Google Play and boasts a growing adoption rate with iOS users via the App Store. Learn more at 5milesapp.com.